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I know my post is a bit late. Nevertheless, I wanted to share something about GLOBAL HAND WASHING DAY.

During my AHSE days, I was 2nd year college then, we we’re required to teach at some public schools about health for our NSTP subject. For that, we have chosen the most common topic yet very important, the PROPER HAND WASHING.

I would remember when I was 2nd year at my Primary Health Care class, we would demonstrate the proper way of hand washing, and no… it’s not simple for us nurses, there’s an art and you have to memorize each rationale for each step. Good thing, there are now Hand Sanitizers LOL!

Anyway, we taught from grade 1 to grade 4 pupils for they are much prone to diseases regarding hygiene. They are very active that they tend to touch whatever they want and go to places no matter how dirty it is. They should be properly taught about hand washing on when to do it and how to do it properly.

We first had a discussion and then we had them demonstrate to us what they have learned. We as instructors have so much fun and we can say that the students also had fun in learning about hand washing (surely, they had fun in singing happy birthday to determine on how long they will wash their hands LOL!).

Let’s always practice hand washing and prevent contamination from microorganisms— kidding, simply to prevent diseases. Indeed, it’s one of the simplest and universal precaution.

As for me, when there’s no sink or water for me to wash my hand, I always bring with me my handy alcohol. (My friends and I would joke that we’re becoming “oc-oc” obsessive-compulsive because every now and then, we would pour alcohol at our hands. LOL!)

What to do when you wait for Operating Room and Delivery Room Cases at the wee hours of the night—or morning should I say?

playing BLUFF

Roe, PLaying Jackstone LOL!

playing pick-up sticks

after playing Hi Jack...

I know, it’s illegal but what can we do right? We could sleep but some of us, including me can’t sleep properly…

Lyne, mastering her skills at sleeping... LOL!

as well as Llanah...=p

For the third time, our group was assigned at Rizal Provincial Hospital only this time, we are at the OR/DR. During this rotation, (sad but true) was my first time at really performing the “handle”— the one who will catch the head of the baby and deliver the placenta. Though, I haven’t got the chance to catch the head because I don’t know what to do and the baby’s head was already out, I was the one who delivered the placenta. It was easy though the gush of blood stained by OR shoes and scrub suit. Waaaah!!! Nevertheless, it was a great experience. At least, I experienced that before I graduate…=p

with our clinical instructor

Another thing was, our group experienced our first mortality. Though, it really wasn’t our fault and the hospital itself, the baby was delivered dead already. It’s a condition called Intrauterine Fetal Death wherein the baby died inside the mother’s womb. It’s really heart-breaking to see the baby violet-colored, cold, unresponsive. He was just covered with white cloth on his side, lying in his own arms. I want him revived but there’s no resuscitation done because he was already dead probably hours before his delivery. My other group mate even cried. It was really sad.

During my DR completion last summer, I was able to observe a baby being resuscitated for almost 15 minutes because I will do the cord care. My heart stop as well as my breathing because the baby has no reaction to stimuli. Good thing, with constant compression, hyperventilating and suctioning, the baby was revived. As soon as he was revived, my breathing resumed and my heart started to pump.

I don’t want to see a baby dying as much as possible. I want them to live. After killing the baby during our VINES exposure, I’ll definitely make it good!

P.S: Pleasssseee… don’t tell this to the authority… or else… we’ll bite you and kill you with our venom ’cause we’re a PAITON snake (one of my group mate’s surname)… LOL!

.....hisssssssss.....

I am always fond of looking at the billboards as we travel and go to places. I envy those pretty ladies with alluring bodies because I once dreamt to be a model (LOL!!!!). Anyways, we know for a fact that there were— are some sexy- R18 billboards and ads not suitable for the mass people to see that gained much of issue and intrigue. Yeah, it definitely caused traffic and worse, accidents. Those billboards certainly caught drivers’ attention, which should not be the case.

Being trapped in a traffic, for some it’s a form of a distressing fact because they can rest their eyes, for some they are whining for they really want to get home early. But what if there would be pleasant billboards around in which passengers and even drivers would enjoy seeing?

That’s a different case.

Last October 16, 2008, there held a blogger event at Fully Booked, Bonifacio High Street entitled The Art of Billboards: 2nd Media Opens the Biggest Outdoor Gallery in Asia. The event is just small but they really relayed their aim in this endeavor. I am always interested in paintings as I am a frustrated fine artist (no, I can’t even draw. If that’s what you think…LOL!)

Dubbed as the biggest outdoor gallery in Asia, this endeavor features artworks from 10 most promising Filipino artists. Sharing a theme that highlights environmental awareness, these artworks located in key locations across the metro, is in support of the ongoing international movement rallying for nature conversation.

Not only they wanted to change the image of billboards but also, this could be a very effective tool in making the people knowledged and opening their eyes in certain issues.

With the disparaging issues regarding billboards, I say two thumbs up for the 2nd Media- the Public Affairs arm of the Outdoor Advertising Association of the Philippines’ (OAAP) endeavor in improving the image of billboards in our country.

Here are some of the artworks that you will hopefully see in the near future at South Luzon Expressway, North Luzon Expressway and EDSA:

This one is my favorite because of its health theme:

Last Saturday, I have had the most shameful experience so far being a student nurse.

My patient is a 10 year-old male with a provisional diagnosis of T/C CNS Infection. He has body weakness, episodes of vomiting and he was very irritable. However, he still is conscious, coherent and oriented in three spheres (person, place and time).

During the shift, I took his Vital Signs, I noted that he had fever with a temperature of 38.2C so I performed Tepid Sponge Bath for my nursing intervention, then I rechecked his temperature after 30 minutes and it was 36.8C. I took his blood pressure though he is just a pediatric because of his episodes of high blood pressure. True enough, I noted 120/90 mmHg for his BP and it’s really high for his age.

For about 5 minutes later, a medical intern (or is she?…hmmm I don’t know) rechecked my patient’s Vital Signs, she copied the temperature I got but she, on her own got the cardiac and respiratory rate. Here comes the problem. When the doctor checked his BP, at first she didn’t got it because of the patient’s constant movement and noise and do she pumped again. I observed what she was doing, she pumped at 140 mmHg then release. She read the measurement and relay a 140/100 mmHg reading.

I was shocked. REALLY SHOCKED.

What the HELL happened there? I was really definite of my reading few minutes before. The mother was also shocked because I said to her that her child’s BP is just 120/90 mmHg. I didn’t take any move.

The doctor explained that the other doctor endorsed that the patient has consistently high blood pressure since admission, he even had a reading of 160/140 mmHg (as far as I can remember). At the back of my mind, I was battling with her statements I mean, that BP reading was before the client got medical management for his condition. If she could review the chart, which I thoroughly reviewed, his BP now was ranging from 110-130 systolic and 80-90 diastolic.

She even tested for Kernig’s and Brudzinski’s sign roughly. She didn’t asked the patient face to face if he experienced nuchal rigidity even if he can answer it directly, she just asked the patient’s mother to do it for her. What’s the point right? What kind of assessment was that?

Minutes after that “i-don’t-know-what-kind-of” doctor, the mother approached me. She said “Minuto lang ang nakalipas, sabi mo 120/90 lang, ngayon ang taas na…” I just said in a low tone of voice, “yoon po talaga ang nakuha ko… 120/90 po talaga yon…” then I left.

If ever I’d be assigned to the same patient again next week, I don’t know if I still have the face to render care to him. I was on shame at the same time I was pissed.

FEU Student Nurses are trained to get Vital Signs accurately without altering the results (well at least for my group). It is our forte considering it is what we do almost all at the time during clinical rotations especially if the hospital is benign (non-toxic) with matching NCP and Drug Study making. It has become our routine and our specialty. Sad but true. To be questioned in what I know I do best is a big slap on my ego.

I reported this incident to my clinical instructor and she just said “Hayaan mo yang mga yan, mga insecure lang yang mga yan. Ganyan talaga yang mga yan.”. I still can’t move on with what happened. I just said “Sige, kaysa naman yung doktor yung mapahiya, ako na lang kasi estudyante lang naman ako…” even though I know I am right.

Altering Vital Signs is crucial for the well-being of a patient. It can kill. If you would refer to my previous post.

I hope health care providers will possess the virtue of veracity because it is life that we are dealing with and not just a toy which you could by another if broken.

Coronary Angioplasty or the Percutaneous Coronary Intervention is an invasive procedure that uses a balloon tipped catheter to dilate a stenotic area of a blood vessel. It can improve the blood flow to the heart.

This procedure is done to manage arteriosclerosis, a common disease of the arteries in which the lining of the small arteries are being thickened and atherosclerosis, also a disease of the arteries which affects the medium and large sized arteries caused by accumulation of fats, calcium, blood components, carbohydrates and fibrous tissues referred to as plaques.

It is also done to reduce the damage to the heart muscles caused by heart attack and improve symptoms of coronary artery disease such as angina and shortness of breath.

Most angioplasty is a success but this is not a permanent intervention. Plaques may reoccur months after the operation when doctor’s orders and other lifestyle modification interventions are not followed.

One famous artist who had undergone angioplasty for the third time (I think) is Ely Buendia, the former vocalist of the band Eraserheads who just recently suffered from a heart attack last August 30, 2008.

This is lifted from Medical Surgical Nursing 10th edition by Brunner and Suddarth

For more information on Coronary Angioplasty click here.

*photos are from here and here

Kanina, habang ako ay nakasakay sa pampasaherong dyip at binabaybay ko ang aking byaheng pauwi, may isang musmos na batang sumakay sa dyip at nagpunas ng mga maduduming sapatos (o tsinelas) ng mga pasaherong nananahimik (o natutulog) at nakatingin sa kawalan. Bigla na lamang nagugulat ang mga pasaherong dinadaplisan ng kamay niyang hawak ang isang madumi at maliit na basahan. Ngunit, isang bagay na nakapagpapukaw sa aking atensyon ay ang pamilyar na mukha niyang taglay. Siya rin pala ang batang madalas na umaangkas sa bawat dyip na aking nasasakyan sa araw-araw na aking pagpasok at pag-uwi sa eskwela.

Laking pasasalamat ko at hindi niya inaabot ang aking puting sapatos (bagkus ito lamang ay kanyang marurumihan dahil sa ilang sapatos na ang nadaanan ng kanyang nag-iisang basahan) ngunit kanina ay sinawimpalad ang aking sapatos (pasalamat na lamang ako at hindi ako nakaputing uniporme). Hindi lamang niya naistorbo ang aking katahimikan at pagmumuni-muni sa byahe kundi nagdulot pa siya ng isang malaking pagkainis.

Mula 5th avenue (Caloocan City) hanggang Monumento ay kinakalabit niya ang aking binti dahil siya ay nanghihingi ng isang pisong limos. Tinitiis ko ang kanyang paulit-ulit na pangangalabit at pag ako’y napapalingon ay tinuturo niya ang kanyang marungis na bibig. Siya daw ay nagugutom na. Sa kadahilanang hindi ko siya binigyan ng limos ay may naawang isang ale at binigyan siya ng barya. Ngunit, hindi pa nagpaawat ang pobreng bata dahil tila gusto niya yata na manggaling sa akin ang piso na kanyang hinihingi. Naisip ko, aanhin niya ang piso ko para sa nasayang na oras sa kanyang pangungulit sa akin na sana’y naipalimos na niya sa iba? Marahil ay mayroon lamang siyang pinagdidiskitahan na tao sa tuwing mamimili siya ng dyip na masasakyan (malas ko lamang o siya, na ako iyon). Hindi ako nagpadala sa pagmamakaawa ng batang iyon dahil kilala ko na ang batang iyon. Alam na alam ko na ang kanyang istilo sa pamamalimos. Ang una’t huli kong binitiwang salita sa kanya ay “Doon ka manghingi sa nanay mo….”. Patuloy parin siyang nangangalabit at pansin ko na lumalakas ito. Hindi na ako kumibo at tumingin na lamang sa bintana ng dyip at nagtiis hanggang siya ay bumaba.

Kahit kailan ay hindi ako nagbigay ng limos sa mga pulubi (sa aking pagkakaalala). Sila man ay bata o matanda, may kapansanan o wala. Maaari sigurong makapagbigay ako sa may mga kapansanan ngunit kahit kailan ay hindi ako magbibigay sa mga batang musmos dahil naniniwala ako na hindi dapat nila ito ginagawa. Mayroon silang mga magulang na dapat ay nagbibigay ng kanilang mga pangangailangan. Naniniwala din ako na patuloy lamang silang mamamalimos at malamang ay uutusang mamalimos hanggat may mga taong nagbibigay ng limos. Hindi tayo nakakatulong sapagkat hindi sila magigising sa katotohanan na dapat ay maghanap sila ng mas marangal at katanggap-tanggap na gawain o trabaho (para sa mga magulang o matatanda) upang makaraos sa pangaraw-araw na buhay.

Akin ding naiisip na isa lamang akong estudyante at umaasa sa aking mga magulang upang magkaroon ng pera panggastos araw-araw para sa eskwela. Hindi dapat ako ang nagbibigay ng pangkain nila sa pangaraw-araw. Hindi dapat ako ang pumupuno sa kanilang mga pangangailangan. Ang bawat piso na aking hinahawakan ay katumbas ng balde-baldeng dugo’t pawis ng aking ina. Sa panahon ngayon, ni hindi ka nga makakakita manlang piso sa daan. Ang masasabi ko lamang ay mahirap kumita ng pera. Kung tutuusin, tinuturuan lamang natin silang umasa sa madaling paraan ng paghahanapbuhay. Kaunting kalabit at arte lamang ay bibigay na agad ang mga malalambot na puso ng mga Pilipino at dudukot ng kaunting barya sa kanila ring mga butas na bulsa. Nasasanay sila na sa ganoong paraan lamang ay magkakaroon na sila ng pera ng walang kahirap-hirap (instant kumbaga). Maaari naman sigurong magbigay kung minsan subalit tila ay umaabuso na ang mga namamalimos na iyan. Kung minsan ay magagalit sila na barya lamang ang iyong ibinibigay. Hindi sila nakukuntento na ganoon lamang ang iyong inabot. Mayroon pang iba na hihingiin na ang pagkaing kinakain mo at pipilitin ka pang magbigay ng kaunting barya. Mayroon pa na susundan ka kung saan man at hindi ka titigilan hanggang hindi sila makapalimos sa iyo. Madudumihan ka na, maaabala ka pa (Jahe diba? lalo na kapag nagmamadali ka sa iyong pupuntahan).

Hindi rason ang pagiging mangmang sa pamamalimos. Pare-parehas tayong binigyan ng kanya-kanyang lakas upang makaraos sa pangaraw-araw. Mautak lamang sila at doon nila naisip na gamitin ang kanilang lakas. Na ang kanilang puhunan ay ang sarili nilang kaawa-awang sitwasyon. Maraming mga namamalimos na iba-iba ang kanilang mga istilo may iba na ginagamit ang kinalang mga anak, ginagamit ang kanilang kapansanan, kung minsan ay nanghihingi ng pera dahil kulang ang kanilang pamasahe para makauwi at kung ano-ano pa. Kung tutuusin, pwede tayong mamamalimos pero bakit tayo magpapakaburo sa ganoong klase ng buhay hindi ba?

Naaawa ako sa mga batang kailangang gawin ang mga ganoong bagay. Ngunit hindi ito sapat upang bigyan ko sila ng limos. Gusto ko silang pagsabihan, gusto ko silang tulungan sa ibang paraan ngunit pakiwari ko’y wala pa ako sa tamang lugar para gawin iyon. Kinamumuhian ko ang mga magulang nila. Nasaan ang kanilang responsibilidad? Nasaan ang kanilang mga gampanin? Ang matinong magulang ay hindi hinahayaan na maglaboy ang kanilang mga anak sa mga delikadong daan. Ang matinong magulang ay pinupunan ang mga pangangailangan ng kanilang mga anak.

Matatawag bang swapang o madamot ang isang taong pinaninindigan lamang ang kanyang mga prinsipyo sa buhay?

Matatawag ba akong matapobre kung sa aking pananaw ay hindi ganoon ang tamang pagtulong sa kapwa?

Nagkakasala ba ako sa Diyos sa ginawa kong iyon?

Hindi ko alam kung ano ang iniisip sa akin ng mga ibang nakasakay sa dyip na iyon, ngunit wala akong pakialam dahil gusto kong pangatawanan ang aking prinsipyo. Sa uuliting makita ko ang batang iyon, kung kakayanin ng aking lakas ng loob ay pagsasabihan ko siya. Sana maintindihan niya ako.

Aking hiling na sana may gawin ang mga may kinauukulan hinggil sa usaping ito. Hindi dapat ganito ang buhay na kinakaharap nila. Matagal ko ng ninanais na magsulat tungkol dito. Paumanhin dahil hindi ko na kinaya ang aking pagtitimpi. Ayaw ko na manahimik na lamang at kunsintihin ang mga ganoong klasing tao. Hindi ito para matahin ang mga nakakababa, hindi ito para laitin o kutyain ang mga mahihirap. Wala ako sa posisyon upang gawin iyon dahil wala naman akong sinabi sa mundong ito. Ang nais ko lamang ay pantay na pamumuhay dito sa mundong ibinigay sa atin ng Diyos.

Ngayon, Ibibigay ko na sa inyo ang kapangyarihang manghusga.

Each of us desires to have a stable family of their own. We dreamt of a perfect family we could ever even fathom. I am sure everyone knows that a family comprises of a father a mother and a child or better, children. I can clearly remember of how my grade school teacher wrote the word FAMILY in the blackboard one sunny day. It was bold and capitalized. She finished it with an underline and said that it literally meant Father, Mother, I Love You but what if one of them is out of the picture? then, here comes the tough part. Broken families… could it still be called a family or just another “group of people”?

Incomplete, Abandoned, Unwanted, Discriminated, Separated, Imperfect, Unfortunate, Broken… those were the words connected to a family who has fallen apart, this is the social stigma attached to them. A family is supposed to be intact, united, loving and nourishing but due to some instances, it doesn’t. Living in a modern world today, I am aware of the many families crashing down. I have friends and I have myself to testify to that. Failed marriages, Unwanted pregnancies, Illegitimacies are the most common reasons for this. Yes, I am from a broken home. Some keep it as a secret because of the aforementioned reasons, they are shy and ashamed but I chose not to.

For 9 years now, I have been living with my hardworking, persistent and loving mother, who is a mother and father all in one for us. She has the most amazing and challenging job in the world being a solo parent. She never fails to provide us with everything though I know she is having a hard time considering that she doesn’t receive any help from my father but she always manage. I really admire her for that.

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“While the right to talk maybe the beginning of freedom, the necessity of listening is what makes the right important.”

Some says freedom is having the right to express yourself without suffering consequences. In the same manner, one way of expressing our freedom is our right to talk. On the other side of my thinking, I asked, What is the sense of our right to talk if nobody or no one just even tries or dares to listen? Will there be freedom or at least a chance to practice it?

I believe that listening is the starter and the main essence of exercising our right to talk for without it, there is no point of having that right in the first place. Listening or having a listener is a necessity. It should always be present, if not, you’ll just talk to yourself even if you have the most brilliant or the solutions to the problems of the world… It will just be wasted and be gone with the wind.

*this was my assignment for my speech class, we were asked to explain the quotation above and this was graded 96% — high enough for me…=)

I have never had my own experience relating to Philippine justice system nor have I found myself guilty of violating laws or whatsoever but being aware of the injustices happening in our society nowadays makes me think and worry, what will happen to me if ever I was on the hot seat and experiencing something that involves justice in the Philippines?

Justice in the Philippines from what I can hear and see is very difficult to achieve. I know this may sound a cliché to you but I believe it is true. If you happen to be oppressed, this is a right that you can never practice but if you happen to be rich and has many “big” connections, it is just as easy as one snap of a finger. Prejudice is very evident unlike in other countries. Our government should take actions regarding this matter but I doubt they will because they themselves happen to be involved in such controversies.

Maybe in this materialistic and selfish world most of us can never attain justice that is right for us but in God’s eyes, we will find the perfect verdict.

*This was my assignment for my Nursing Ethics and Jurisprudence concept, this is 200+ words but the real instruction was 100 words only. We were asked to write about what can we say on our justice system in our country. I didn’t get the chance to know my grade but I believe that there is not right or wrong answer in this essay. =)

The most common thing or if I may say the only thing that people answer when you ask them about Jose Rizal is that he is our national hero— idol and he is found in our 1-peso coin— icon. Sad to say that, in our modern times today, people have very limited knowledge about our national hero. The facts above are the only two things most of us know about Jose Rizal but for historians and experts; they have so much adjectives to connect with our national hero.

Bayaning Third World, a “detective” story about Rizal being Philippine’s National Hero. Commenting on the movie per se, at first I thought it is just some boring documentary about Rizal but understanding the facts exposed made me interested. The film is in black and white but it didn’t hindered my amusement because of the funny way they presented the most serious facts about Rizal. The movie is easy to understand if you are able to read about his life story or if you have tackled his life in your Filipino or Rizal subject but if not, you may get confused. Good thing, I have read and we have tackled his life in our lecture— that helped me follow through the film. This film also highlighted Rizal being a “Pilosopo” which reflected the Filipino attitude both in a good and not so good way. They also showed Rizal’s letters and documents which is commonly taken for granted to unveil the truth about his controversies. The movie made it “viewer-friendly” by face to face interviews with the involved persons and that is why I appreciated Rizal’s significant others behind their names.

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